A sunset pet photography session, Toronto

/ Terri J Photography/

What a great pet and family photography session I had this week with Carly, the cutest little ShiPoo! We met at Earl Bales Park in North York, Toronto for a late afternoon/evening photo shoot with her human Mom, Dad and their daughter. Carly is adored by the family!

For sunset shoots, I always begin the session an hour or so before sunset. That way I get an assortment of photos in differing light situations. Starting out, the pictures are shot in fairly bright light. Then later in the day we get that gorgeous golden light from the sun’s position low in the sky.

With Carly’s session being late in the day, I had a lot of opportunity to choose backlighting for her. Backlighting is when the main light source is behind the subject, but facing into the camera. It basically illuminates the subject from behind. Shooting in the late afternoon or evening just before sunset is one of the best times for trying backlit photography.

Small dog on the grass with blurry background

Here is one of the first images from her session. We had lovely even light with the main light source behind her. You can tell by the very slight rim of light on her back and darker shadows on her chest

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In this image, a little later in the session, the sun is just setting behind her and casting a gorgeous golden rim light outlining her little body

Another great use of backlit photos in pet photography are silhouettes. As the sky turns golden and the sun sets, all the light is coming from behind the subjects and provides fantastic opportunities to create striking silhouettes.

Here is Carly and her family silhouetted against the setting sun.

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Achieving well exposed backlit photos is not easy, but with practice you can get some amazing shots! So next time you are out with your dog, grab your camera and try backlit photos!

If you are interested in a pet and family photo session in the Toronto area or occasionally in Southeast Florida , please contact me for a free consultation.

I am looking forward to seeing more backlit pet photos from the members of our blog circle, starting with Tracy Allard of Penny Whistle Photography fetching portraits in Coppell and surrounding communities in the Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex